This modern-day phenomenon started with the launch of sites such as Friends Reunited, My Space and now, global Facebook.
I am unashamedly part of this process but constantly have to reassess whether it is a force for good or not.
We have all met people in our pasts we would rather not meet again. People who may want to contact us but not vice-versa. People who will send us a 'friend request' and we feel obliged and compelled to accept so as not to appear rude. People we did not give our phone numbers or addresses to, can now trace us.
I have long suspected most of us are diluting the word 'friend' by accepting colleagues and acquaintances as such.
Is it a good idea to allow casual acquaintances access to our personal photos and other details that we never gave them in the first place?
Do we really want friends of friends viewing our snapshots and even knowing who we are in a relationship with?
Do we want our bosses to view our status, likes and dislikes, and posts meant for our friends? Or even knowing what we're up to on our days off?
Do we want the worlds marketing machine to target us with direct advertising? I can't log in to my e-mail anymore without being bombarded with adverts on products I enquired about years ago and no longer require.
Where will it leads us...?
We're all living in the spotlight nowadays, centre-stage, like celebrities exposed to the world but without the wealth and rewards our new-found status should bring.
Please let me know your views.
:)
it's the same as i always think . we accept them friends and make the word friend , not valuable as they supposed to be . they dont really care actlly .
ReplyDeletejust gotta go with the flow & u don't have to accept anyones friendsreq. cause if it's not someone u've met for ages anyway, u probably won't see them again, so they can't confront u about it. & even if they did, just say u only use it for close family and friends. which i thiknk most people understand.
ReplyDeleteAishah: true comment, thanks
ReplyDeleteAnon: Good idea,so by changing your settings you can prevent non-friends from snooping. Thanks
Momma:I guess the only way is to change your settings and make all your data visible to friends only...uhmm, as you say, but the games are also an issue. I still feel uneasy about FBs REAL motives in providing a free-of-charge forum. I'm a sceptic who doesn't believe in free-lunches. Even the i-phone is tracking its users whereabouts 24/7. Thanks for your comment :)